The Speckled band v Lamb to the Slaughter

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

English. Wider reading. The Speckled band v Lamb to the Slaughter Question. Compare the similarities and differences of these two stories and consider how successful they are as detective stories. In your answer comment on content, language and structure. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the first story "The Speckled Band" in 1892. The story is about a detective, Sherlock Holmes' who investigates the murder of Julia Stoner. The story is narrated by Watson, Sherlock's' sidekick and close friend. Roald Dahl wrote "Lamb to the Slaughter" the Second story, in 1954. Although it was written over 50 years later and it has a more unconventional story line it is still an interesting read. The Question is asking for a comparison between the two mystery stories and to consider their success as detective stories. It's telling me to explore into what makes a successful detective story and what would I expect to find in a basic mystery story. The question is asking for comments on the writers' use of Language, Structure and Content. Considering that one of the stories is pre 1900 and the other post 1900 I'm guessing that the Language, Structure and Content are going to vary significantly. I'm expecting to find that the first story which is the pre 1900 will have a more traditional theme where as the post 1900 will consist of a much more unconventional story line. This part of my Essay is going to be about the basic features that are found in detective stories and what you expect to find in a detective story. ...read more.

Middle

You wouldn't expect Mary to murder somebody, but you wouldn't be shocked to hear that Dr. Roylott had. The second difference is in the content. One of the murders is deliberate whereas the other wasn't deliberate. In "The Speckled Band" we don't find out who the murderer is until the end of the story, although the readers do get given clues towards who did it e.g. The saucer of milk, The phoney bell pull and the ventilation shaft that had no useful purpose. Another difference between the two stories is the motives behind the murder. In "The Speckled Band" Dr. Roylott planned murder so he wouldn't loose any of his inheritance from his wife. His motive was that in his wife's will it said that when her daughters marry they should receive 200 pounds, which was left with Dr. Roylott. Of course Dr. Roylott didn't want to loose any of his money and so the only way to stop them from marrying and receiving �200 was to kill them. In "Lamb to the Slaughter" the crime was a "crime of passion". It was perpetrated on impulse. After Patrick told Mary something. The writer doesn't tell us what he's going to do instead he leaves it up to the reader to imagine what he's planning. The reader then thinks he's going to leave her and so they feel sorry for Mary. Mary's emotions obviously begin to build up as she starts to call him darling even more and tries to show her true feelings for him. ...read more.

Conclusion

The whole story is formatted in this way to provide the reader with a story, which is simple in structure but complex in language. I'm now going to move on to "Lamb to the Slaughter". It's more uncharacteristic than "The Spackled Band". Its structure is inconsistent and the language it contains could be thought of as more up to date. In "Lamb to the Slaughter" Roald Dahl starts off the exact opposite way in which Sherlocks sidekick did. In Roald Dahls story the readers get a comprehensive account of the murder. Its set out his way to fascinate the reader early on in the story. This will also captivate the reader as they will want to know what happens as the stories ending isn't as predictable as conventional mystery stories. There aren't a lot of answers in "Lamb to the Slaughter" and so the conclusion is quite sardonic. As we already know whom the murderer is. In conclusion to this essay I believe that "Lamb to the Slaughter is a much more successful story as it has much more individualism and illustrious technique in it compared to "The Speckled Band". Although I prefer "Lamb to the Slaughter" some people may find the pre twentieth century story better, as it definitely is a more simplistic and predictable story line, although its language is more exquisite. I think that "Lamb to the Slaughter" is more successful as a detective story as it isn't as predictable as "The Speckled Band" and I think that it has better story line as it is a much more inventive story. ?? ?? ?? ?? 1 ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Roald Dahl section.

Related GCSE Roald Dahl essays

he even heard where the whistle was coming from to find the snake in the first place. The thing that made me keep on reading was when Sherlock Holmes said 'Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a saucer of milk does not very far in satisfying its wants, I daresay.

When the reader is told "She swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it as hard as she could on the back of his head." The state of uncertainty has been removed along with the anxiety and worry.

This suggests that Dahl has drawn his ideas from fairy tale villains, for example, the witch in Hansel and Gretel. Another important feature in the story is the landlady's deceiving appearance. She looks so kind and warm- with round, rosy cheeks and gentle blue eyes.

'She certainly wasn't prepared to take a chance'. Throughout the story suspense is created because the reader is wondering whether she will manage to dupe the detectives. From their very first entry Dahl has hinted at their blind naivety. Mr Maloney is 'with child' and the wife of one of their friends, so they treat her kindly.

` This makes the reader believe she loves her husband very much. She also comes across as kind because she is sewing and makes her husband a drink. Both murderers are similar in the means that they both have motives. Mary's motive is anger because her husband wanted a divorce.

They appear to be 'thick' in their thinking and 'sloppy' in their overall approach, just like their "thick, sloppy voices". Unlike Doyle's detectives, they see their job as just another boring, routine investigation they are obliged to attend to. Their boredom is relieved by drinking the whiskey and eating the lamb (The vital evidence).

His footsteps are heard and as the car door slams, she knows that it is the routine, but she listens to what he does. The writer depicts sound between Mr and Mrs Maloney to convey their relationship which isn't right as Mrs Maloney assumes because of the break in Mr Maloney's routine.

Dhal also gives little hints of what the outside looks like: "......tyres on the gravel outside, and the car door slamming,......" This also shows how modern the story is as it points out modern objects. "......the light switch......" "......the deep freeze......"